The other hobby

Many things have conspired to keep me from blogging these past weeks, but the biggest one has been my genealogy obsession. This crops up every now and then, but seems to be sticking around for a while this time. Probably because I've found out how to access some excellent Internet resources and have been connecting up new generations on my husband's paternal grandfather's side like crazy. There's nothing like the thrill of the hunt! (I am such a geek.) So far I've been able to get into the 17th century in some spots (albeit with some shaky documentation), which is pretty damn cool. I've even found a fifth cousin of my daughter's in Yorkshire whom I'm now working with to get further back on our shared side of the family. It's extremely cool to combine research and ideas, and to be able to tell someone something like, "Hey, while you're taking that day trip into Hornsea, d'you mind checking out the churchyard for so-and-so's grave?" Awesome stuff.

There has, of COURSE, been knitting...lots and lots and lots of knitting, on numerous projects. This is another reason for the lack of blogging - it's a bit intimidating to look at everything you have to talk about and then write it all down without worrying that you're missing anything. But I shall give it a shot...

Snood for DD1

Last weekend, we packed up the kids and headed out to our first SCA event in quite a long time. Actually, I think the last event we'd gotten to was the same one the previous year! So it was lovely to see everyone and the weather was fortunately mostly good.

While there, my older daughter found out about snoods (one of her friends wore one with her court garb), and of course wanted one for herself. For some time, I've been thinking about how cool it would be to knit a lace doily and convert that to a snood, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity. I spent some time with DD1 on Ravelry, showing her pictures of doilies. She picked one that she liked, and decided she wanted it in red.

Friday night I got going on it, but by the next morning it was pretty obvious that not only had I screwed up (don't get me going on the accuracy of the chart), but it was not going to be big enough for a snood - not even a child-size snood. So I ripped it all out and re-started on Saturday with 4.5mm needles instead of 2.75mms.



I'm just finishing it up now and I'm still rather worried about its size, but I'll block it and see if that improves things any. If not, the kid will just have to choose a different doily pattern.

After I'm done this, I'd like to make another one for her out of cream yarn in a more impressively intricate pattern, to match her fanciest garb.

Fistula armband

Attempt #3 was handed off to my brother, and guess what? It wasn't too big!

It was, however, too small. (Like you couldn't see that coming.)

I was all set to give it a fourth try, but then my brother called me and said that he'd found an alternative that he really liked. There's apparently a basketball star named Allen Iverson who wears some kind of armwarming sleeve on his right arm when he plays. (Rumour has it that this is to cover up obscene tattoos, but opinion seems to be divided on that.) These sleeves are available from sporting goods stores - they're obviously able to breathe, aren't too tight, and look pretty fashionable. My brother loves his. It cost about $30, but he's very happy with it. So I have officially given up on this project.

Sweetness for baby Ella

A few weeks ago, I found out to my surprise (thanks to Facebook profiles) that one of my husband's cousins is going to become a grandmother in August! Total surprise to me, but of course there should be some knitting happeneing there. Apparently the baby is a girl, so, hmm, what could I possibly make that's cute and fast? :)

Actually, I've been kind of looking for an excuse to make Sweetness again. Right now there are 12 projects using it on Ravelry, and about 8 of them have photos. And there's some real creativity with the colours happening! One person used three colours, using a different background colour in the centre rows of the main stranded motif. Several people used the contrast colour in new places, like the garter ridges at the top and the bottom, or the i-cord straps. So I was inspired to change things up a little, too. I once again used white as the main colour, but I found some odds and ends in the stash from a cardigan project for my older daughter that looked like they'd blend really well. I made it a little more fair isle by changing the pattern colour in the centre of the main motif, used the contrast colours for the thicker sections of garter stitch and the straps, and - tadah!



I am completely in love with it. Thank you to everyone who changed up the colours and showed me what else I could do with my own pattern!

Skirt for DD1

I finally got into the LYS and picked up a 4mm circular so I could keep going with this project.

The problem is, I can no longer remember what the heck my pattern adaptations were. I think I have notes kicking around somewhere, but I'm pretty sure they're very sparse. Sigh. I may have to re-calculate and re-start.

Wild socks for DD1

I tried the first sock on DD1, and not only was the foot waaaay too long, but it was also too tight. It was almost impossible to actually pull it on. So I ripped it all out and started again, re-jigging my pattern instructions for the 'small child' size. I finished the second version of the sock, but I can't remember how it fit...actually, I can't remember if I even tried it on her at all! Although I think I might have not even bothered because the foot was too short. Hm.

The neat thing about this pair is that the yarn colours stripe in a very cool way. I'll be sure to post pictures once the pattern is published.

Double-faced bib

I've finished a few rows here and there. Nothing to scream about.

Really Christmas socks for Dad

These have been started - I'm using sock yarn from the stash and my own sock pattern. So far I've finished one sock, and I'm about to start the leg on the second one.

Eleanor of Toledo socks

Here's another project that's seen a few rows here and there, but nothing more than that. However, it's still affecting me rather profoundly because when I put it in the bag with my other projects to take to work, it tangles up among everything like CRAZY. So annoying! So I've stopped taking it with me.

Tangling aside, though, it's nice.

Socks for DD2

What better way to use up sock yarn leftovers and test out more sizes with my sock pattern than to make socks for my baby girl? I've finished one already and it's sooo cute.

Sweater with patterned arms

I've been meaning to blog about this one for some time but keep forgetting. Some time ago, I mentioned that I'd been inspired by a co-worker's sweater to design something really cool. I had in mind strips of intricate stranded motifs down the sleeves, and cool texture patterns on the body. It was a great idea and I figured it would be a great success.

Until, shortly after joining Ravelry, I was cruising through patterns, and found the Rannoch Dress (you'll need Ravelry access to get to that link), by Marie Wallin, from Rowan 42. It's gorgeous and almost exactly what I'd envisioned, in dress form, so I've given up on this design project. :) (If it's already gorgeous, why design another one?)